Chapter 8 - THE HIDDEN BANK ACCOUNT
The house meeting lasted three hours.
By the time the investigator left, the financing application was formally frozen.
The transfer document was under review.
The renovation contract was suspended.
Michael Avery left with an expression that said he regretted ever learning our names.
I sent Skylar to lunch with Evelyn’s assistant.
She did not need to hear what came next.
Evelyn and I stayed.
Brandon stood near the fireplace.
Gertrude had retreated to the guest room.
Hailey sat at the dining table staring at her phone.
I opened my laptop.
“There’s another account.”
Brandon’s head lifted.
I watched his face.
That was enough.
“You know which one.”
“I have several accounts.”
“This one has seventy-eight thousand dollars.”
Hailey looked up.
Gertrude appeared in the hallway.
“Seventy-eight thousand?”
Brandon glared at me.
“You went through my finances?”
“Our finances.”
“That account is mine.”
“Then why are transfers from my paycheck going into it?”
He froze.
I turned the laptop around.
For almost two years, small amounts had been moved through household expenses.
Five hundred here.
Nine hundred there.
A duplicate utility payment.
A fake reimbursement.
A cash withdrawal disguised as repairs.
Individually, each looked small.
Together, they were enormous.
Gertrude stared at him.
“You said you had no money.”
Brandon snapped.
“This has nothing to do with you.”
She stepped closer.
“You make me use Charlotte’s card because you said your accounts were tied up.”
I almost laughed.
For once, Gertrude and I had something in common.
Brandon had lied to both of us.
Hailey stood.
“You said the renovation money was the only way we could get ahead.”
Brandon slammed his hand onto the table.
“Everyone stop.”
Nobody did.
I looked at the account history.
“Where did the money go?”
He crossed his arms.
“Investments.”
“What investments?”
“Private opportunities.”
“What does that mean?”
“Business.”
Evelyn spoke for the first time.
“Then documentation should be easy.”
Brandon looked at her.
“I don’t answer to you.”
“No.”
She closed her folder.
“But you may answer to a forensic accountant.”
That phrase changed his expression.
I saw fear.
Not irritation.
Not anger.
Fear.
I leaned forward.
“What else is there?”
“Nothing.”
“Brandon.”
“Nothing.”
Hailey suddenly spoke.
“What about Palm Springs?”
The room went silent.
Brandon turned slowly.
“What did you say?”
Hailey swallowed.
“You told me not to mention it.”
I looked between them.
“What is in Palm Springs?”
Hailey hesitated.
Gertrude answered.
“An apartment.”
My chest tightened.
Brandon cursed under his breath.
Gertrude looked at me.
“He said it was for business.”
I stared at my husband.
“You rented an apartment?”
“It’s temporary.”
“For whom?”
Nobody answered.
Then Hailey said the name.
“Nicole.”
I felt something inside me shift.
“Who is Nicole?”
May you like
Brandon closed his eyes.
And suddenly the financial betrayal was no longer the only secret in the room.
